End Child Poverty

A definitive new report by one of the top poverty research centers in the country reveals that in 2016, Wisconsin poverty increased by over 10% and child poverty increased by a shocking 20%.

You can read more about the report and what it means for our campaign to end child poverty in Wisconsin on a new section of the End Child Poverty Wisconsin website. On that page, you’ll find current information about poverty in Wisconsin and the U.S. that you can use to show others in your community why this effort is so important.

Letters to your local newspaper about the campaign – like this one by ESTHER member Lou Blasczyk – can help build awareness of the urgency and opportunity for ending child poverty in Wisconsin. We’ve passed the 3,000 endorsement mark – almost a third of the way to our goal – but it will take twice as many new endorsements to get us the rest of the way.If you’ve already endorsed the campaign, why not send a short letter to your newspaper highlighting the findings of this report and encouraging readers to endorse the vision?

If you haven't signed on yet, your support is definitely needed. Visit endchildpovertywi.org/endorse/ to show you want to see a united effort in our state to cut childhood poverty in half. Then write to your newspaper!

RACE TO JUSTICE

At this forum, WISDOM leaders from around the state will be asking gubernatorial candidates very specific questions about their intentions in the areas of criminal justice reform (including parole, crimeless revocations, treatment alternatives to incarceration, Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, solitary confinement), public transportation, childhood poverty, health care, immigration, education, mining.

Car-pooling from Northeast Wisconsin is being arranged, including reimbursement of cost of gasoline for those who drive. Contact ESTHER by phone (920-843-8083) or email (office@esther-foxvalley.org) to make arrangements.

We believe in ending child poverty in Wisconsin. Watch this 4-minute video to understand why. Then join us!

We believe that the people of Wisconsin, working together, can cut child poverty in half in the next ten years. We also believe that the current racial disparities in poverty levels should be cut in half. And we are committed to evidence-based evaluation of progress. Will you join us?

The persistence of poverty is a moral crisis that calls us to action. While poverty is not limited by race, ethnicity, or age, children are the poorest members of our communities. Moreover, growing up in poverty creates damage that lasts a lifetime. Further, economic disparities among racial groups in Wisconsin are greater than in the U.S. as a whole.

How can we let this continue? Add your name to the list of those who support this goal!